The top ranked women's team of the Barton Community College track and field program captured its 28th Region VI Indoor and 15th Jayhawk West title Saturday at the 2019 Region VI/KJCCC Championships held at the Robert Plaster Center location at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas.
The Cougars won twelve events, to go along with, a meet record and sixteen other placers over the course of the two day Championship to pile up 174 points to distant runner-up Cloud County Community College by 54 points. On the conference's final tally sheet, Barton scored 197 points to outscore the T-birds by forty.
Five new national qualifying performances were added as well, bringing the squad's total to thirty-one as the Cougars will return to Pittsburg March 1-2 for the NJCAA Indoor Championships.
Barton also took home two distinguished special awards led by Head Coach David Schenek receiving the women's Coach of the Year honor with freshman Arianna Hayde being voted the Female Field Athlete of the Meet.
Hayde and her Pentathlon teammates Aquila St. Louis and Maurina Prieto got Barton off to twenty-one point start to the championships placing first (3124 points), second (2985 points), and sixth ((2369 points) respectively. The trio won four of the five events with Hayde winning two of the five including a personal best and national qualifying 1.61m (5-03.25) high jump.
The freshman closed out the opening day with another personal best, placing third in the long jump with a nation's sixth best 5.80m (19-00.50) mark in the sand before completing her inaugural region competition with a fifth place in Saturday's high jump competition. Tracy-Ann Powell and Isheena Belnavis joined Hayde in earning points in the long jump with Powell's personal best 5.42m (17-09.50) qualified for nationals while Belnavis missed the standard by .07m in her first time in the event finishing a spot behind in eighth with a 5.33m (17-06.00) mark.
Three other freshman had tremendous debuts as well, with Yoveinny Mota breaking the 60m hurdle meet record in Friday's prelims with an 8.47 clocking. The national leader in the event, Mota stopped the clock again at the same time in Saturday's finals to also put her name in the sixth spot all-time of the program record book matching Ayesha Champagnie's time set on the same track at the 2017 National Indoor meet.
Freshman T'Nia Riley hauled in two gold medals the short track as the nation's second ranked 60m runner won the event in 7.44 before edging out teammate Kaytie Black's personal best by .43 seconds for the 200m title in 24.42. Deborah Giffard, who owns the nation's top 60m time of 7.38, placed third in the Region with a 7.54 final time after leading the prelims with a 7.48. Black also qualified for the 60m finals but a false start erased any point chances.
The winning streak on the track continued into the 400m where Wichita freshman Christal Mosley's 55.21 time edged out Georgia sophomore Nijah Roberson's 55.85 for the title as the duo's personal best times rank third and sixth nationally respectively. Barton's third entry in the event, Florida freshman Anitria Sangster, placed fifth in her first time competing in the event to miss the national qualifying standard by .01 seconds in clocking a 59.13.
Cadeebra Calcote didn't win the 600m or 1000m, but the sophomore was impressive by posting a personal best and nationally qualifying times. Having not competed in the 600m since the first meet of her freshman season, Calcote clocked a 1:34.26 to place third and clock the nation's third best time then three hours later, ran the 1000m for the first time since last season's Region VI meet for a 3:07.54 time. Fellow sophomore Azan Sargusingh also made waves on the national scene, running the 600 event for the first time in a fourth place and national seventh best time of 1:36.06. Sandwiched between the 600m and 1000m. Shanique Masters gave the Cougars another five points with a fourth place 800m time of 2:22.31 to come in a half second slower than the freshman's national top twenty time.
The field events produced two Region VI Champions with Latavia Maines winning Friday's Shot Put with a 14.14m (46-04.75) mark to place ahead of Fiona Richards' 13.47m (44-02.50). Kameliah Style took Saturday's weight throw competition with a winning personal best 16.88m (55-04.75) to not only rank sixth nationally but etch her name into fourth place of the program record book. Maines placed seventh in the event with a 14.68m (48-02.00) mark.
Barton put the final touches on its Region Championship with the 4x400m title as the nation's top ranked tandem of Roberson, Mosley, Sargusingh, and Riley won by over four seconds in cruising to a 3:48.59 time.
Region VI Champions:
Arianna Hayde (Pentathlon)
Yoveinny Mota (60m Hurdles)
T'Nia Riley (60m and 200m)
Christal Mosley (400m)
Latavia Maines (Shot Put)
Kameliah Style (Weight Throw)
4x400m Relay (Nijah Roberson, Christal Mosley, Azan Sargusingh, T'Nia Riley)